Seven-story Stone Pagoda in Tappyeong-ri, Chungju (), also called the Jungang Pagoda (Central Pagoda), is a 14.5 meter tall stone pagoda near the

Namhan River Namhan River (Namhan-gang, South Han River) is a major river of South Korea, the 2nd-longest. It is a tributary of the Han River. It is famous for clean and clear water, especially in its upper reaches and tributaries, and serves as a source of ...

North Chungcheong Province North Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청북도, ''Chungcheongbuk-do''), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region in the s ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. It is the tallest stone pagoda of the

Later Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...

period.

History

The stone pagoda is estimated to have been built during the reign of King Wonseong in the 8th century, and it has a style which was typical of the

period. It is presumed that the pagoda was once part of a temple site; various artifacts were discovered beneath the pagoda in 1917, including religious items and a mirror from the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

period. According to a legend, the pagoda was at the center of the country. Thus, if two people from the northern and southern ends of the country walked at the same pace toward each other, they would end up meeting at the pagoda.

Citations

{{coord, 37, 00, 57, N, 127, 52, 00, E, region:KR_type:landmark_source:kolossus-kowiki, display=title Stone pagodas National Treasures of South Korea Pagodas in South Korea